There’s a lot to take into consideration when you’re designing a website. You have to create the layout, set up the site architecture, place calls to action (CTAs), and pick your domain name, just to name a few things.
But all too often, a website’s color scheme is an afterthought.
Plenty of site owners put little to no thought into picking a website color palette—let alone a trending one. They think, “How important could my website’s colors really be?”
In reality, your color choices have a bigger impact on visitors than you might realize. Colors can evoke specific feelings and nudge the choices your visitors make—from whether they keep reading to whether they click a button.
In fact, research shows that people judge products within 90 seconds of exposure—and up to 90% of that judgment can be based on color alone. Choosing the right colors shapes how readers perceive your website and brand.
Done well, your palette can enhance readability, increase comprehension, and even improve learning and recall.
Colors are one of the most important elements that add credibility to your website. According to HubSpot, many people rank the design of a website as the number one factor in determining a company’s credibility.
The University of Toronto conducted an interesting study on colors and how they’re perceived. They found most people favor combinations of simple colors.
In many cases, just two or three colors were perceived as appealing. That’s why sticking to a focused color palette is so important to the success of your site—and ultimately your business.
But there are more than 10 million colors to choose from. That’s overwhelming, to say the least. How can you determine which website colors are the best for your brand?
Whether you’re designing a new site from scratch or giving an old one a facelift, you’re in the right place.
This guide highlights trending color palettes so you can pick colors that fit your brand and map to how you want customers to feel. We’ll look at real examples and list exact color codes you can reference.
1. Soft Tones
Soft tones are definitely trending right now. Wells is an ecommerce brand. Here’s a screenshot from its landing page:
The colors are muted, classy, and appealing—a perfect fit for contemporary homeware and décor. The simple tones work well together and help the product imagery stand out.
The layout mirrors the palette: plenty of white space lets the page breathe. Throughout this guide you’ll see that negative space is just as important as the colors you use.
As you can see, there’s minimal text. The brand doesn’t need a wall of copy to communicate—and its audience doesn’t want that anyway.
Muted colors convey refinement and calm. They aren’t in your face, which makes them ideal for premium product displays.
Rather than cramming as many products as possible onto one page, this site showcases just one or a few at a time. That gives visitors a chance to experience each product individually. The colors support the images and highlight them rather than distract from them.
If you’re interested in using these colors on your website, try beige (#DDD0C8) and dark grey (#323232). Ensure body text maintains adequate contrast against backgrounds for accessibility.
2. Simple Gray, Off-White, and a Pop of Red
You don’t need a dozen colors to make an impact. Palettes that lean on shades of white or gray with a single high-contrast accent keep distractions low so visitors focus on what matters.
Check out this page from Best Horror Scenes. Because the site focuses on horror, it leans into a powerful yet simple scheme.
There’s more text on the page, but it stays simple and easy to scan.
Rather than pure white, a slightly off-white tone softens the contrast and blends well with the gray and red. The muted background makes the red accents feel even more striking.
Here are the color codes used: white smoke (#F0F0F0) and bright red (#E7473C).
This is a strong option if you want a palette that’s professional, simple, and friendly to text-heavy pages. Tip: reserve the red for CTAs or key highlights so it signals importance.
3. Rainbow Gradients with Black Text
Stripe is a popular payment processing software option for ecommerce companies. As a technology brand, Stripe keeps up with digital design trends—and its color choices help.
Before we look at what the site looks like today, take a look at what it looked like in 2013:
There’s nothing “wrong” with this design—it’s just visually flat. Nothing really jumps off the page.
Stripe later embraced a technique that’s grown in popularity: gradients. Take a look:
The page blends vibrant rainbow hues into bright white, creating a dynamic backdrop that lets black text pop.
By using gradient scales, Stripe transforms simple base colors into layered backgrounds with depth and energy—without overwhelming the content.
The difference between the two versions is night and day. Even without dates, you’d spot the newer one instantly.
If your website feels dated, consider adding subtle gradients for a modern refresh. Keep contrast in check so text remains readable.
4. Throwback Yellow and Red Tones
Retro palettes are back. Lots of brands are pulling from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s—then adding a modern twist.
By blending retro elements with contemporary layouts, you evoke familiarity for older audiences and trendiness for younger ones.
It sounds contradictory—how can something be retro and modern at the same time? The answer is in careful execution.
Let’s look at the CIRCUS incs. homepage shown below.
Warm orange and red tones deliver a throwback vibe, while gradient blends and crisp typography keep it feeling current.
You can also use generational marketing to segment your target audience. Understanding who you’re targeting informs your palette choices—it’s about relevance, not stereotypes.
Here, the palette nods to audiences who remember earlier eras, while still appealing to modern tastes.
5. Soft Beige, White, and Jet Black
Cowboy differentiates its brand by selling electric bikes on a modern—and slightly beige—website. The sleek design suits the product perfectly.
The soft beige background makes the jet-black bike the unquestioned focal point. Subtle white accents add highlights without clutter.
Regardless of audience, this combo evokes sophistication and modernity. Keep interface elements (like buttons) high-contrast to ensure they’re easy to find and use.
6. Gray, Soft Yellow, and Deep Blue
The QED Group is an organizational development firm based in the Czech Republic that applies concepts from psychology and behavioral economics.
It makes sense that they’ve built a sleek site with smart, unexpected color combinations.
At first glance, the palette is busier than earlier examples, but it still works thanks to disciplined use of space and hierarchy.
Yellow, blue, and purple can clash if you’re not careful. By using a light gray backdrop, the design adds brighter contrasting colors to the central silhouette without hurting readability.
Like this modern look? Try pairing soft yellow with cool gray and deep blue, using bright hues sparingly and keeping text contrast strong.
7. A Very Light Touch of Earth Tones
Konstantopoulos S.A.’s “Olymp” label sells Greek olives—so earth tones, especially olive-adjacent greens, make perfect sense.
The layout is simple. Olive green is the primary accent, used sparingly for a fresh, modern feel.
Instead of saturating the page with dark greens, a soft gray background makes images, text, and accents pop.
Muted green leaves in the background add texture and guide the eye to green headings and the logo.
Brands in healthy foods, plants, and agriculture can all benefit from earth-tone palettes. Start with a light gray background and darker gray text, then layer in your key accent color sparingly for recognition without noise.
You can apply the same approach if your product has an identifiable color. Anchor the page with light gray backgrounds and legible gray copy, then add your signature hue and one complementary accent—clean, modern, and easy to maintain.
8. Lots of Red, Balanced with Muted Tones
If you scan the palettes we’ve covered so far, you’ll notice red is rare.
Red is powerful and tricky. It grabs attention fast—and can overwhelm just as quickly. Used well, it adds excitement and urgency.
One reliable tactic: use red sparingly for emphasis in buttons or key phrases. Another: pair bold red with muted neutrals so it can shine without shouting.
The creative branding agency five/four went big with bright red across large areas of the site, supported by white, black, and gray.
Here, red does the heavy lifting while neutrals provide balance. Introducing more bright hues would tip the design into chaos.
It works for the brand: bold, creative, attention-grabbing. If you go this route, ensure text and interactive elements maintain sufficient contrast and don’t rely on red alone to communicate errors or status.
Want to go modern and bold? Pair a vivid red with a restrained set of neutrals—and give the layout room to breathe.
9. Futuristic Pastels and Primaries
This list wouldn’t be complete without Anton & Irene, New York–based designers who specialize in digital products.
They put on a masterclass in combining pastels and primaries.
One of the best aspects of this scheme is its futuristic feel. The bold outfit choices and color blocking flirt with excess—yet the page never feels gaudy because usage is carefully restrained.
More colors than earlier examples, yes—but used sparingly, they stay harmonious. The pairing in the image is clever: purple/orange and blue/yellow create lively tension while still feeling cohesive.
If you want an artistic spin, experiment with combinations like the ones below, keeping backgrounds simple and reserving saturated hues for focal points.
10. Black on Black on Black
We’ve seen black across most examples so far, usually for text. But you can absolutely lean into heavy blacks for your overall palette.
Done right, layered blacks communicate class, luxury, and professionalism—especially if you mix multiple tones for depth:
Check out the JY BH homepage. Combining multiple shades of black creates subtle gradients and texture, delivering a mysterious, bold aesthetic.
This French clothing manufacturer sells luxury garments and accessories. Just like in fashion, black is timeless in web design—popular for years and likely to stay that way.
If you go heavy on black, use multiple tones to avoid a flat look—and maintain strong contrast for body copy and interactive elements to keep everything readable.
Conclusion
It’s time to ditch the dated palette. Color schemes can influence trust, engagement, and sales—so they deserve your attention.
Use these palettes as a launchpad to build a modern, on-brand website. Try the exact color codes we shared or adapt them to your needs.
With a focused palette, smart contrast, and plenty of white space, choosing the right website colors doesn’t have to be hard—and your visitors will feel the difference.